The Asylum
by PandaGurl13
Summary: Shadowsville, Washington; home for the Shadowsville Asylum. Everyone believes it's just for the mentally insane only, but they don't know that's only half of it, it's also made for experimental projects. But what happens...When an experiment, goes terribly wrong? *SYOC CLOSED*
1. OC FORMAT

**Somethings I wanna tell ya:**

**1. Send this via PM**

**2. The format will be on my profile**

**3. Please use only the format that I have provided**

**4. The story takes place in Shadowsville, Washington (I own Shadowsville) The year's 2014**

**5. Have FUN! ^^**

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><p><strong>BASIC INFO<strong>

**Full Name:**

**Nickname:**

**Age: **

**Gender:**

**Nationality:**

**Religion:**

**Ethnicity:**

**Sexuality:**

**Birthday:**

**APPEARANCE INFO**

**Eye Color:**

**Hair Color:**

**Hair Style:**

**Skin Color:**

**Height:**

**Weight:**

**Body/Body Type:**

**Scars, Tattoos, Etc:**

**1****st**** Set Of Clothes (In Asylum):**

**2****nd**** Set Of Clothes (Outside Asylum):**

**BACKGROUND INFO**

**History Before Accident:**

**Reason(s) As To Why They're In the Asylum (Experiment, Insane, Visitor, etc.): **

**Family:**

**PERSONALITY/ PERSONAL INFO**

**Personality:**

**Strengths (3 or More):**

**Weaknesses (3 or More):**

**Addictions or Vices:**

**Fears:**

**Secrets(If Any):**

**Physical/Mental Illness Or Problems:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Anything That Soothes Or Unsettles Them:**

**WEAPONS**

**1st Weapon(Inside Asylum):**

**2nd Weapon(Outside Asylum):**

**OTHER**

**OC's Relation To Mai(Cellmate, Friend, Family, Enemy, Scientist, Stranger,etc.):**

**OC's Opinion About Mai(First And Late Opinion): **

**Other(Just In Case):**

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><p><strong>BASIC INFO<strong>

**Full Name: **Mai Iris Reyes

**Nickname: **'M'/ Em, Iris, Demon, Little Monster

**Age: **14

**Gender: **Female

**Nationality: **American

**Religion: **Christian

**Ethnicity: **American/Irish mixed

**Sexuality: **Heterosexual

**Birthday: **October 13, 2000 (Born on Friday 13th)

**APPEARANCE INFO**

**Eye Color: **Stormy Gray

**Hair Color: **Black, with white highlights

**Hair Style: **Goes down to her hips, bangs mostly swept to the left, some to the right; messy; sometimes in a pair of sloppy pigtails

**Skin Color: **Deathly pale

**Height: **4'9

**Weight: **109lbs

**Body/Body Type: **Thin, Slim, mostly from loss of food, and whatnot

**Scars, Tattoos, Etc: **Scars across her inner arms from struggling

**1****st**** Set Of Clothes (In Asylum): **Mid-Thigh length, spaghetti strap white dress, a ankle cuff(kind of like a slave would wear) with a broken chain attached to it, chain signals she's an experimental project

**2****nd**** Set Of Clothes (Outside Asylum): **Black Lolita dress, mid-thigh length, black piece of ribbon tied in a bow on her left arm, black knee high combat boots, and a black stud collar

**BACKGROUND INFO**

**History Before Accident: **Before the accident…Well, let's start before Mai came to this asylum. Mai was an average girl, young and loved…But, her parents had parents had money problems. One day, they were visited by a group of men and women, dressed in white lab coats. They said that they needed to use Mai's body to help cure a disease, and they'd pay her parents each month she'd be kept and they of course gave her away. The first day at the asylum, they stripped her of her clothes and gave her what is listed in the first set of clothes section. Immediately, they started tests, and Mai knew that what they told her parents was a lie. Soon, after so many months of being an experimental project, Mai lost it and slowly gained a split personality to protect herself, the other side is called Iris, which is her middle name. Iris is the side that protects Mai. And during the day of the accident, Mai was dragged from her cell to be experimented on, but another was being experimented on as well, and something went terribly wrong, the project attacked the scientists and those that got out, left Mai there, alone to fend for herself.

**Reason(s) As To Why They're In the Asylum (Experiment, Insane, Visitor, etc.): **Experiment

**Family: **Blaire Reyes-Mother-Unknown

Richard Reyes-Father-Unknown

**PERSONALITY/ PERSONAL INFO**

**Personality: **As I've said before, Mai gained a split personality, so allow me to tell about each one.

Mai – She is loveable fourteen year old that everyone knows and loves. Mai can be easily manipulated, like if she's told nothing will hurt this time or she'll get to go home, she'll believe it until she finds out it's a lie. She is a bit of a crybaby, the one that no one expects to survive and end up eaten. She is also the one that always gets upset about others talking bad about her parents, and says they're lying when they remind her of what they did. But the thing most that don't really know about her don't expect is Iris.

Iris – Now, Iris is the opposite of Mai, she's purely insane and can laugh at the most lethal situations―most of the time she's causing them―and not even see how it's _not_ funny. She is always there to protect the innocence of the other side of Mai, the one that's useless. You can tell when Iris is out by the dark look in her eyes and the smirk on her face, but if you're unable to see her face, you're screwed. Iris will kill you if you seem like a threat to her or if you anger her. So, word of advice, don't draw out Iris unless you absolutely need to.

**Strengths (3 or More): ***Flexible – M/I

*Stealthy – I

*Good at keeping secrets – I

**Weaknesses (3 or More): ***Easily trusts others – M

*Can't leave another person behind – M

*Physically weak from experiments – M/I

**Addictions or Vices: **Mai has no real addictions, but Iris has a nasty habit of angering others or slitting her enemies throats, whether they're a teammate or not

**Fears: **Mai is afraid of being alone, being in the dark, watching her teammates die, death, and syringes/needles

**Secrets(If Any): **She knows what caused the accident

**Physical/Mental Illness Or Problems:** INSANITY! ^^

**Likes: **Chocolate, warm hugs(just had to add that, but she really does), and sleeping beside a comrade she knows(don't take that in the wrong way)

**Dislikes: **Syringes/needles, the dark, people insulting her parents, and being alone

**Anything That Soothes Or Unsettles Them: **Syringes, they unsettle her for the fact she was experimented on. Hugs, they soothe her, her mother would do it before they gave her up.

**WEAPONS**

**1st Weapon(Inside Asylum): **Syringe from the room she was in

**2nd Weapon(Outside Asylum): **Knives/ Daggers

**OTHER**

**Theme Song(Will Be Used As An Opening To Chapter): **Human by Krewella

**OC's Relation To Mai(Cellmate, Friend, Family, Enemy, Scientist, Stranger,etc.): **Uh…Herself? ^^;

**OC's Opinion About Mai(First And Late Opinion): **W-wait, why did I answer this one and the last one? ^^;

**Other(Just In Case):**

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><p><strong>Well, here's a third HOTD SYOC. I'll bet you're thinking, what about the others?! Well, Dead Attack is almost finished and I'll be working on this one and Undead Lockdown at the same time. Also, I'll have a poll on my profile: Which SYOC should I finish first after Dead Attack? Thanks so much and I will be showing a list of the OC's I accepted. ^^ Arigato Loves! <strong>


	2. OC LIST

**~OC LIST~**

**Mai Iris Reyes. . . . MidnitStar(Me!)**

**Hotaru Shinozaki . . . . LightningNatureX(Lightcchi!)**

**Fernando Hernandez Meza. . . . Ghost132**

**Devin Arron Kaspar. . . . Ryou Ryuu**

**Cyrous Hunter. . . . enarmonios**

**Kei Naruki. . . .MayonataKarasu**

**Jake Carol. . . .KeepLovingStars**

**LaRayne Hasha. . . LARONRX**

**Elizabeth Potenza. . . . Alice White –Pg**

**Nina Acadia. . . .JollyRancher . PrettyAnime**

**Lynard 'Loki' O'Brien. . . . BlackJack77**

**Rebecca Warner. . . . xxbookwormmockingjayxx**

**Miroslava Volkov. . . . Koreijutsu-shi**

**Aurora Tamashi & Isabella Rosa. . . . angelpure-chan**

**Antonio Rodriguez. . . . ShadeZyro**

**Lucas Storms. . . . TigerMasters**

**Jonah Kiparo. . . . Tbroome535**

**Iker Clyde Wulf. . . . Mookiebear12(Mookie-Chan!)**

**Haru Muramoto. . . . bamafelix**

**Here's the final list. Let me know if you submitted an OC and forgot to list you. **


	3. The Accident

**~The Asylum~**

**Chapter 1: The Accident**

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><p><em><strong>They say:<strong>_

_**Pain is an illusion**_

_**This is just a bruise and**_

_**You are just confused, but**_

_**I am only human…I am only human!**_

**_~Human By Krewella~_**

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><p>The sound of the dripping water in the Detention Cell unsettled the one it held captive. She wriggled on the cold, wooden bench, uncomfortable is what she was. Mai's stormy gray eyes continued to flicker around the room, hoping for more than just one tiny barred window for a source of light.<p>

Mai hated the dark, it frightened her and when she was afraid, Iris would take over to keep her safe. She wanted to be back in her Containment Unit with her best friend, Elizabeth Potenza. Elizabeth was the main one to help her keep Iris inside.

But, the fourteen year old had earned her way into there. _No,_ Mai thought,_ Iris earned our way into here._

The insane personality decided to reveal herself when a doctor was talking to her, giving her counseling, but when he mentioned her parents, Mai started to get upset and the Iris showed, grabbing the closest sharp object and leaping onto the man, slitting his throat, blood spurting out and onto the girl. Iris did not care, but when Mai came back, they didn't believe her when she said what happened.

The dark haired girl with bright highlights slid off the bench, her bare feet dragging across the cemented ground, the chain hanging loosely from her ankle cuff rattling. She cringed at that sound, it always unsettled her about the fact that she felt like a chained up animal, used for illegal testing.

_If you let me out, I can always help us escape,_ Iris laughed manically in Mai's head. The girl placed one hand on her head, trying to make it to the window, closer to the only light source throughout the whole room.

"G-go away Iris, I-I don't need you." Mai stuttered, her voice almost a little whisper.

The insane persona did not respond to Mai's words. Her mind became silent once more. Mai stood on her tip toes and peered outside of the asylum, spotting the beautiful greenery. It looked so much better than inside, was that the point? To deceive people into thinking their family was in great care?

_Most likely,_ Mai thought. A red-breasted robin flew down from its perch in the Oakwood tree and in front of Mai, cocking its head to the side questioningly. Mai giggled and reached between the bars, her fingers brushing the bird's wings.

It flapped them uncomfortably, and started to cleanse them with its small beak, still eyeing Mai carefully, not sure if it should perceive her as a threat or not. Mai smiled kindly, her gray eyes lighting up with joy.

She reached out once more, small hand shaking, startling the bird and it chirped once before flying off. "N-no! Don't leave!" Mai cried out, frantically trying to reach out for the bird.

Mai started to pull at the bars, trying desperately to bend them. "Please…"She trailed off.

The door to the room slammed open. "Reyes."

She whirled around, her arm becoming caught in the barred window, tears in her eyes, sniffling. Her scientist, Brian rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe. "What are you cryin' about now?"

"I…The bird…I just wanted to…" She wiped at her eyes, sniffling.

Brian sighed. He always wondered why he had to be assigned this insane crybaby. Why couldn't they allow someone else to do it? Maybe it was because they were afraid of the one Mai referred to as Iris, some believed the child was possessed by a demon, but Brian thought otherwise.

"Come on, it's time for your Testing." He said.

Mai's eyes widened. "They hurt."

"Well, I promise that this time, it really won't hurt. I'll even hold your hand Mai." Brian said all sweet like.

"R-really?" Mai asked, inching closer to Brian.

"Yep."

Iris laughed. _Why do you bother anymore Mai?_ She shook her head and started to walk to Brian, reaching out for his hand and he snatched it up, taking her out of the Detention Cell, shutting it behind her and taking her down the hall.

Mai hated the 'testing' or experiments as most call it. The syringe always caused her to scream and kick, struggling and they're have to drug her, numbing the body. He took into the Preparation Room. That's where she and her scientist would have to gather the drugs needed for her, for the testing.

She entered the room, finding her friend, Kei Naruki standing there, his head down. It looked like he had a new scientist. "K-Kei." Mai said.

He lifted his head, lavender eyes settling on her. "Hi Mai." He said.

"Are you going to be tested too?"

Kei nodded. Brian was obviously surprised by Mai's talkativeness, no one ever saw her talk, unless it was Iris doing all the talking. Of course, Mai was comfortable talking with Kei and Elizabeth. "New scientist?"

"Yeah, I told her to come back when it's dark, but she said no." Kei said.

Mai smiled weakly. "It won't hurt to come out during the day would it?"

Kei shrugged. Mai loved the light, while Kei preferred the dark, hence his nickname among the other experiments, Raven. Only Mai and Kei's scientist actually called him by his name. "You're not gonna go Iris right now?"

She shook her head. "N-no, they said that this time, it really won't hurt."

He frowned; he knew they were taking advantage of the girl. She was so lucky to have the split personality there to keep her innocence…Well, whatever was left intact. "If it does hurt, don't hesitate to―"

"Mai, let's go." Brian interrupted.

"S-see you at lunch Kei?"

"Possibly." He said.

Mai placed a hand on his upper arm and smiled, the other fourteen year old trying to return the smile. She followed Brian into the Testing Room, where another patient was already inside, sitting calmly, he looked so sickly.

_Do I look like that?_ Mai thought.

_Try worse!_ Iris laughed.

"Shut up." Mai said.

"What?" Brian asked, taken aback by Mai's words.

"S-sorry, I was just talking to myself."

Brian raised a brow and shook his head, stopping in front of the metal table beside him. Mai climbed on and lay face up, staring up at the blindingly white ceiling. She now understood why Kei would rather be tested in the dark.

Mai squinted to see what Brian was doing. "Just a little bit of this." He said, pulling a liquid into the syringe.

Her eyes filled with fear as she realized what it was. It was what hurt her most, it was like a poison, leaving her sick and gagging, like she was dying, and she didn't leave her and Elizabeth's Containment Unit for weeks.

"NO!" She cried, shooting into a sitting position, but Brian placed a hand on her chest and started to force her back down.

"Come on Mai, not again."

"It'll hurt, it makes me sick! I don't want it! You can't make me!" Mai cried, kicking and pushing the syringe away, tears pricking the sides of her eyes.

"Mai! Quit!" Brian ordered, trying not to inject himself with the syrum.

Mai relentlessly struggled against him. "No! No! No!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

"Will you keep her calm?! You're freaking out my patient!" The other scientist shouted, her patient squirming strangely on the table.

"I'm trying woman!" Brian glared.

Mai didn't stop moving. "Get it away!"

_Allow me to help Mai._

'Mai' smirked devilishly and grabbed Brian's hand in a tight grip, one he couldn't get out of. "You don't believe others when they say I'm dangerous, bad choice dear scientist~" She giggled insanely, shoving him backwards into the table, tools and medicine falling to the floor as he took the table down with him.

She giggled, her stormy gray eyes twinkling with insanity. "Say, Brian, do ya mind if I take that syringe and plunge it right into that neck of yours?"

"Wha-what?!"

"Great, the demon's out." The woman said, starting for 'Mai'.

"Bring it, old lady."

Her patient twitched, sitting up and turning its gaze on her. It slid into a crouching position and pounced on the grumbling woman, it's teeth sinking deep into her neck. 'Mai' laughed, rocking back and forth excitedly watching the scene unfold, completely forgetting about the downed scientist.

Brian climbed to his feet and stared at his co-worker, watching her being eaten, as his patient laughed manically. "What's wrong? Afraid?" 'Mai' asked him, and he took off screaming.

She turned to see the thing turning on her, right after she had spoken. "Wanna play, eh?"

'Mai' slid off the table, avoiding its bite, causing it to take out a chunk of the metal. She twirled and bent down and plucked the syringe off the floor. She turned to the thing and grinned widely; slashing the syringe across its neck, blood spurting out at her…She had hit a major artery.

"Is this fun enough for ya?!"

It growled. "No? Then, what about this?!"

The girl plunged the knife into its head, ripping it out and repeating her attack. "Is it fun? Is it? Huh, huh, huh?!" 'Mai' laughed.

When it dropped to the floor, 'Mai' holding the syringe in hand, she was out of breath and covered in blood, still giggling. She pushed open the door to the Preparation Room, Kei standing there, his scientist gone. Brian must've taken her.

"Mai?"

She blinked. "Kei?"

"What happened?" He asked, walking over to her.

"I-I don't know."

"Are you okay?" Kei asked, placing a hand on her arm.

"I'm scared Kei, I wanna go home." She cried.

…That day, the experimental project went all wrong. And thus began the apocalypse.

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><p><strong>Did ya like? I kind of think I went to fast, but it's you guys who's reading it, not so much me. So review your opinions. And the drill: PM me if you'd like changes to your character andor I screwed everything up about them. And Review. It's in all my SYOC's, that drill is. So thanks for reading, I'm still accepting OC's and please remember the drill. Thanks and see ya next time Loves! **


	4. Sweet Murder

**~The Asylum~**

**Chapter 2: Sweet Murder**

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><p><em><strong>I've become so numb, I can't feel you there<strong>_

_**Become so tired, so much more aware**_

_**I'm becoming this, all I want to do, **_

_**Is be more like me and be less like you**_

_**~Numb by Linkin Park~**_

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><p>As Kei guided Mai down the empty, hall, the teen couldn't help, but wonder what had truly happened in that Experimentation Room. When he tried to check, realization seemed to hit Mai, and she screamed and cried for him not to go in there.<p>

But he was less worried about what happened inside that room and worried about what would happen to Mai. After all, the girl was drenched in blood, syringe gripped tightly in her small hands, and a frightened expression glued upon her face.

To be truly honest, for once Kei was glad that guards weren't wandering about to keep the insane in order. "K-Kei, where are we going?" Mai asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I was thinking we could go tell the guard about what happened and get you a fresh pair of clothes. By the way, what did happen?"

"…I-Iris, she…I didn't mean to…I just, she…" Mai buried her face into the crook of Kei's neck and started to sob uncontrollably.

Looking up at the rotting ceiling―a slight blush on his cheeks―Kei placed his hands on Mai's back in an attempt to hug and soothe the crying girl. "It'll be okay Mai, if I have to, I'll make up a lie to keep you safe."

"Why does she have to be in me Kei?" Mai cried into his neck.

"It's your body's way of protecting yourself."

"But…I don't wanna kill, I don't wanna hurt people…I just want to see my mom and dad again."

Kei cringed at the thought of Mai's parents, the first time he met Iris, the girl swore up and down that she'd kill those pathetic people Mai calls parents for sending them to the Asylum. Just the thought of them giving up such an innocent girl made Kei feel sick, it reminded him of the orphanage he called home giving him to find a fake cure for a fake disease.

"It's going to be alright Mai, I won't let any more people scare you or hurt you, okay?"

Mai nodded and slowly retreated away from Kei, rubbing the tears out of her stormy gray eyes. "Now, come on, let's get to that guard and get you cleaned up." He said, extending a hand out to Mai and she took it in hers.

He continued to lead the now calmed girl down to the closest guard's room, just as an alarm sounded. "What the heck?" He asked, looking around, red light flashed on the walls and ceiling, twirling with each blare of the alarm.

It was an alarm that scientists set off when someone attempted an escape or a patient became too hard to handle. "Come on, let's hurry before we get caught and asked a million questions."

"O-okay." Mai said and ran after Kei.

The two reached the nearest guard's room in due time, but the door was partially open as if the guard had just left, and indeed he did. "Well, that's even better right? No guard, no explanation." Kei said to Mai.

"That is good…I guess."

Kei gave her a reassuring smile and pushed open the door, but the friends froze at the sight before them. A teenage boy sat upon the guard's desk, half-naked which revealed his feminine-like figure to whomever saw him, and a wide open kimono hardly covering his bare skin.

At the sight of Mai, he cocked his head to the side, his medium length, unkempt black hair flopping into his blue eyes, an excited smile on his lips. "Mai! It's great to see ya~"

"H-Haru?" Mai stuttered, taking a step forward.

"The one and only~"

Mai opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but closed it when she remembered the boys status here at the Asylum. To the guards and scientists, he was nothing, but their toy in bed. Her new cellmate was always sexually abused by everyone, even some of the other insane patients had attempted to have their ways with Haru. It happened practically every day, so often that Haru seemed so used to it.

"Hey, Haru, come on, we're getting Mai some clothes and leaving the room…You should come before that jerk wad comes back to have some more 'fun'." Kei said, moving to the cabinets in the corner to gather Mai up a new outfit.

"Darn those alarms, getting in the way of everyone's time. And that darned Little Monster, killing that experiment and scientists. I swear, when I see that girl I'll―" The guard froze in his office's doorway, taken aback by the sight of Mai and Kei.

Kei raised a twitching brow at the guard's clothing, it was completely messy, the shirt untucked and the belt done all wrong, not to mention, his shoes seemed to be on the wrong feet. Mai cringed in absolute disgust at the sight, she knew the man was having what most liked to call: fun with Haru, and he only tossed on his clothes to get out of the office before suspicions were raised.

Guard Vickson licked his lips as he looked at Mai, she tumbled backwards, falling into an end table, glass shattering beneath her. "Mai!" Kei shouted.

"Hm? You guys sharing a girlfriend?" Guard Vickson asked, dark eyes flickering between a fuming Haru and Kei. "Well, I hope you don't mind sharing her with me."

"Don't you even think about touching her you sick, twisted―" Kei bit his lip when the guard aimed a gun in his direction.

"Keep your mouth shut…And watch."

Mai screamed when the man reached for her. "N-no! Don't!"

His hand cupped Mai's chin as he slid the other up her dress. "Stop!" Mai tossed her head back and cried.

"Leave her alone!" Kei shouted, but he could not move with a gun aimed at him once again.

"Shut up!" The guard shouted, as Mai cried out his hand touching her breasts.

"STOP IT!" She screamed.

He moved his hand from her chest and slid it closer to her panties. "NO! STOP IT! DON'T! STOP!"

Haru's bangs fell into his eyes. The boy had snapped. He jumped off the desk and snip kicked the guard off his feet, snatching away the Taser in the process. Haru glared darkly down at the guard and tazed him, no remorse or regret…Nor any sign of weakness on his face.

The guard screamed in pain, and his head lolled to the side, he was now immobilized. Mai was lying on the shattered remains of the end table, her entire body trembling in fear once more. Haru helped her to her feet, but the girl's legs gave out beneath her. He caught her and held her against his body, to keep her from collapsing. "Filthy scum, don't you ever look in Mai's direction again or so help me, being immobilized is the least of your problems."

Kei jogged over to his friends. "Well, that wasn't very fun, now was it?"

Mai shook her head, clinging to Haru's shirt. "I'm scared."

"Hey Mai, since you don't want to be touched in that way, maybe you can do it to me instead."

Mai flushed a bright red and shook her head, pushing away from him, but stumbled back, almost falling to the floor immediately, the two boys each grabbed an arm. "It's going to be alright Mai, the guys down for the count, he won't hurt you." Kei said.

"O-okay." She said, placing her own weight on her feet to stand.

"Well, let's get going before we get caught with pedo over there!" Kei said in a somewhat cheery way to keep Mai from worrying.

She giggled and smiled at him. "Thanks for helping me guys."

"I hate to say it, but Haru did all the work, I was held back by a gun being pointed at my head." Kei said.

"You still tried to stand up for me. Thank you." Mai said, hugging Kei.

"Eh?" Kei asked, and looked up at an angry Haru.

Without Mai's knowledge, the other male started for Kei, the Taser ready to immobilize him too…He hated the fact of other men touching or falling in love with Mai…No, he loathed it.

Kei swallowed hard, and when Mai released and turned to Haru, the boy changed drastically, an angelic smile on his face. Mai hugged him too. "Well, let's get outta―"

A loud, airy moan interrupted the trio. Mai froze in Haru's arms. That noise was so familiar to the one back in the Experimentation Room. Mai slowly turned her head to look at the door…It was the woman that tried to calm Mai in the Experimentation Room, but became chow for her experiment.

"What the heck is that?" Kei asked.

The woman had a deathly shade of gray skin, her eyes, nose, and mouth had blood dribbling from them, and she couldn't stand straight…Her eyes were pure white with gray dot in the middle, it couldn't even be called a iris or pupil.

"I don't think that's normal." Haru said.

It charged at them, Haru and Kei moved aside, Mai still in Haru's arms. The girl squeaked in surprise when she felt its hot breath on her ankle.

"Do we kill it?" Kei asked Haru.

"Heck yes."

Haru released Mai and aimed the Taser at the undead being, and tazed it, but it had no effect. "Well, that didn't work!" Kei shouted.

The monster turned to Kei. Insinctively, Mai threw the syringe, but it missed and almost hit Kei. "HOLY! Mai!"

"S-sorry, I'm not a fighter!" Mai cried.

"Then, don't throw!"

"I'm helping too!"

"Stop arguing!" Haru intervened.

Haru removed the chair from the desk and swung it into the being's side, temporarily knocking it to the floor. While it was down, Haru rolled the guard over and slid his revolver out of the holster and aimed it at the thing.

"Sleep tight." Haru said, and pulled the trigger, the bullet leaving a good sized wound in the woman's leg. It fell to the ground.

"What is it?" The guard asked, staring at the woman.

"Alright, it's down for now, let's get outta here." Kei said.

Haru grabbed Mai's slender wrist and pulled her after him to the door, and Kei slammed it shut behind them. Haru slipped an item out of his pocket and shoved it into the door's keyhole.

A loud thud smacked against the door causing all three of them to jump back, the guard must not have been paralyzed any longer. "No! Help me! Don't leave me with thing! Help, argh help! Let me―" His words were replaced with screams, and only screams, screams that slowly became nothing except a soft whimper and then silence.

"Come on, let's go." Haru grinned at Mai.

"Sounds good to me." Kei said.

Mai nodded. They started down the hall, and when the exit to the building was in sight, Mai slid into Haru's path, and he almost tripped over her. "What're you doing Mai?"

"If there are more of those things, I won't leave any leaving patients behind. Especially not my friends and our other two cellmates." Mai said, extending out her arms to block him from going around her.

Kei and Haru exchanged glances, and Haru sighed, backing down. Kei patted Mai on the head and looked into her eyes. "So, where do you want to go first Mai?"

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><p><strong>Here you guys go, the new and improved version of Chapter 2. I worked really hard on this so I hope it's a big improvement! Anyways, I'll be working on redoing the next chapter too, so Ciao Loves~ <strong>


	5. Undead Reunion

**~The Asylum~**

**Chapter 3: Undead Reunion**

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><p><em><strong>Wait, it's just about to break, it's more than I can take,<strong>_

_**Everything's about to change,**_

_**I feel it in my veins; it's not going away, **_

_**Everything's about to change**_

_**~War of Change by Thousand Foot Krutch~**_

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><p>Mai's bare feet pattered and splashed through across the leaking and cracked floor of the asylum. Her breathing coming out in short, rushed puffs of breath. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, down to her chin, and dripped onto the floor with a soft splash.<p>

The black and white-haired girl stumbled forward, before collapsing on the ground with a loud and audible _thud!_ "Mai!" Kei shouted, and Haru whirled around, worry in his blue eyes.

She closed her eyes for a small moment, and opened them, Haru and Kei on their knees in front of her, both cooperating to help her up. Kei's lavender eyes scanned her body carefully for any sorts of bruises or wounds that she may have gained without his knowledge.

"It's gonna be okay Mai, we're here for you." Kei said, pulling Mai into his arms, the girl stared at the floor with hazy vision that caused to the room to appear as if it were dancing around her.

Kei ran a hand through his chin length black hair, as well as moving his unkempt bangs out of his eyes. Haru's slender hand twitched around the revolver, index finger slowly wrapping around the small trigger, the boy's bangs fell in his eyes.

The other male realized Haru's uneasiness with Mai in his arms and released the dark-haired girl, yet Haru's finger remained on the trigger. "S-sorry, I can't take a lot of physical labor and such due to all those experiments over the years." Mai laughed nervously. "That, and I haven't eaten all day."

_That's because we were locked up and having fun today!_ Iris giggled manically.

Mai rubbed her temples in a circular motion with the heels of her hands. When her insane persona entered her thoughts, Mai somehow managed to get a temporary headache, it sometimes caused the girl to fall on the ground screaming and retching from the pain.

"We should hurry up before we get caught by guards or something." Kei said.

"Mai just fell and is hurting and you're worrying about guards?" Haru asked in a dark tone, his bangs covering his right eye as he glared at Kei in such a despicable way.

"L-listen, that's not what I―"

Haru pulled the pistol on Kei, the end of the barrel pressing to the boy's head, his lavender eyes widened, as did Mai's stormy gray ones. "I should just blow your brains out. First you put your hands on her, and then you act like she's not even hurt. What's the point of you living anymore you stupid, pathetic―"

"Stop it!" Mai cried, tears brimming in her eyes. "Just stop it! Don't shoot!"

Kei's gaze shifted to the sobbing Mai, and flickered back to Haru momentarily. To Kei, even though he had known the boy for a while, was crazy, especially when it came to Mai. "H-Haru, I wasn't trying to be inconsiderate…"

Haru lowered the gun, an ashamed look on his face. He'd made Mai cry, and that hurt…Hurt more than anyone could ever imagine.

"Mai!"

Mai's head snapped up, dark hair flopping into her teary eyes. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, two figures came into view, and both of them were Mai's cellmates.

The one to slide across the floor was Elizabeth Potenza. She had green eyes and dark red hair in a side high ponytail on the right side of head, bangs covering her left eyes and an ahoge sticking up and a slight amount down on the right side of her face. She had a light pink spaghetti strap top that showed some of her size D's that covered most of her white underwear, and white flats.

Beth hugged Mai to her thin and curvy form, burying her face in the younger girl's black hair.

The other turned his back to the gang, staring with an uninterested or bored expression down the hall, yet his makeshift knife made from a piece of jagged metal and duct tape was wedged tightly in his hands. His name was Andy Garrett, though he preferred to go by Anders. He had sky blue eyes, blonde hair in a small ponytail one that did not go farther than his neck, and a pale skin tone. His outfit, as man y insane patients lacked bright colors. He wore a pair of gray sweatpants, a dark green long-sleeved shirt, and bandages wrapped firmly around his wrist.

"Oh Mai, honey, I was so worried about you." Beth said, stroking Mai's long hair. "I'm so glad we found you guys."

"Y-yeah, I feel the same." Kei said, trying to shake the feeling of Haru pointing a gun at his head, his body trembled at the frightening thought that Haru would get possessive once more and kill someone.

Mai pulled herself closer to Beth's frame. The girl had never seen Haru do such things, and it scared her. Just the thought of seeing her friend's brains blown out across the hall was enough to make her scream and cry…Go insane and permanently become like Iris.

"By the way, how did you guys get here?" Kei asked, trying to change the subject, taking a quick peek at the silent Haru.

He no longer looked murderous, but somewhat back to his normal self, despite the upset look in his blue eyes. Anders slung out an arm and dangling from his middle finger was a key ring, various types of keys upon it. "Took them from a guard." Beth said.

"How'd you get away with that?"

Beth stopped stroking Mai's hair, causing even the girl in her arms to look up questioningly. "W-well, we had to, um…Kill him. Actually, we didn't even do the killing; it was Brian, Mai's scientist. He looked weird, the man could hardly stand and he had a chunk of meat missing from his leg. Brian grabbed the shouting guard and sunk his teeth into his face. While he was busy screaming for help, Anders and I took the keys.

"We took off, hoping that the scientist wouldn't turn to us for its next meal."

Mai ever so carefully placed a hand on Beth's cheek, as if she were afraid the girl would crumble away if touched harshly. Beth looked to Mai and smiled, covering the girl's small hand with hers. "Hey, Anders, you gonna say anything?" Haru finally spoke up.

The boy shot a glance over his shoulder and returned his gaze down the hall. "I bet some food would make him talk." Kei chuckled, trying to ease the tension.

Beth and Mai laughed softly in unison, a harmony of voices. Mai started to stand, and Kei and Haru moved to help her up. "Thanks."

The elder girl stood on her own, sliding an arm around Mai's shoulders. Haru did nothing, it seemed that he had become calm for the time being, which was a blessing for the group. Kei sighed and looked down the hall, in the same direction that Anders was looking at.

All Kei could see was the rotting ceiling, grass protruding through, and mold coloring the dark ceiling, the cracked walls that seemed to appear like they could topple any moment, and the floor that had water pooling from the bottoms of walls, moss and mold had grown on the floor, grass spreading through cracks in the floor.

Kei squinted, and yet still found nothing. "Anders, what are you staring at?"

Something flickered in Anders eyes, and he pointed, Kei checked again, and this time he saw it. The guard that Beth must've been talking about and Brian were limping down the hall. "Crud."

Mai curled closer to Beth. "Great, it's the not so warm welcoming party."

Haru snapped his fingers, gathering everyone's attention. "Let's get going if we all want to make it out alive."

"Going with Haru or _Them_? Tough bargain." Kei said.

"Kei!" Mai shouted, and the hall went silent.

Everyone whirled about to look at _Them_ down the hall, both had stopped, heads facing towards Mai and the others. Brian gave a throaty roar and charged, the guard close behind. "Run!"

The gang took off in a full blow sprint, footsteps out of harmony as they raced to save their lives. Mai was at the back of the pack, clearly no fully recovered from her previous run. She pressed on, even when the path ahead started to sway, and the floor feel like it was spinning beneath her feet.

_Come on, just let me take over…It'll make things a lot easier on you and those pathetic people you call friends!_

Mai shook her head, trying to regain her vision as it began to lose focus. The dirt floor lurched up to meet her, and all Mai could hear was her comrades screaming for her to get up. She rolled over onto her back, staring at the beasts…_Them_, coming closer.

Her mouth opened and out of her throat rose a loud ear-piercing scream. _They _turned on her, no longer listening to her friends crying, but to her for she was the loudest. Brian grabbed her leg, and Mai kicked, screaming. "No! Stop! Let go!"

"Mai!" Haru shouted, stepping forward, but Anders threw out an arm to stop him. "Let me help her!"

Ander shook his head…And the same thing ran through everyone's head…Mai was done for. Beth closed her eyes and turned her head away at Mai screams.

Mai kicked at Brian's face, but the guard grabbed her other leg. "HELP ME!"

There was a loud scream of attack, and a two deafening cracks, and silence. Mai could only hear her loud, racing heartbeat pounding in her ears. She blinked away the blood near her eyes, and looked up at her saviors.

A hand-made its way to her. Her eyes trailed up their arm, looking at the person behind the helping hand. Iker Clyde Wulf. He had a dull, dark blue eye color, mid-length platinum blonde hair that was spiky in the back with thoroughly brushed down bangs that nearly cover his left eye, and an ivory skin tone. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants, he is supposed to have the same chain around his ankle as Mai, but he manages to remove it somehow.

Mai sniffled, grabbing his hand and climbing to her feet. "Iker!" She cried and threw her arms around the eighteen year old boy's neck, burying her face into her chest.

Haru bit the inside of his cheek, drawing blood. "Tch, and what am I? A potato?" The other male asked, grinning mischievously at Mai.

"No. You're not…Loki."

Lynard 'Loki' O'Brien. Just like Mai, he had a split personality, and his name was Loki due to the face he was quite mischievous. Lynard preferred to go by Lyn though when he was truly himself. He had pale blue eyes, jet black hair that was messy and swept to the side and went down just below his ears, and had a very light tan. He wore an overly large long-sleeved shirt with white pants, and white slip on shoes.

"Heh, no Iris today?"

Mai shook her head, and turned her head away from 'Lyn'. "Good thing too, with the both of you together, society is screwed." Kei said.

'Lyn' tossed his head back and laughed. "Funny guy."

Kei chuckled nervously. Haru stalked over to Mai and pried her from Iker's arms, turning her to face him. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"_They_ didn't bite you?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Okay." Haru said with a smile and pulled her to his chest, glaring harshly at Iker, whom shrugged and looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks.

It was well-known to everyone that Mai had a crush on Iker, and that Iker had once had a bit of a crush on Mai, but he tried with all his might to brush it away and show no emotion. "W-we should get going." Mai said in Haru's shoulder.

"Yeah." They all agreed.

Mai pulled away from Haru and smiled. "I can walk on my own. I don't want to hinder anybody if I get hurt again."

Beth walked up to her and placed a hand on her cheek. "We'd never leave you Mai."

"Agreed." Kei said.

A soft growling interrupted the touching moment, and everyone slid into an offensive stance, preparing to attack. "I'm hungry." Anders said, and everyone realized not only was he the only one not getting ready to fight, but his stomach was growling.

Beth rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "None of us have eaten."

"Have you eaten Iker, Loki?" Mai asked.

"N-no." Iker stuttered out.

"Nada." Loki said.

"I guess it's lunch time."

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><p><strong>There we go! Two chapters rewritten with more detail and length! Thank goodness! Whew, I hope you guys enjoy because I put lots of effort into the last two chapters for ya. Ciao Loves!<strong>


	6. And She Cries

**~The Asylum~**

**Chapter 4: And She Cries**

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><p><em><strong>There's always something different going wrong<strong>_

_**The path I walk is in the wrong direction**_

_**There's always someone f***ing hanging on**_

_**Can anybody help me make things better?**_

_**Tears Don't Fall by Bullet For My Valentine**_

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><p><span><em>3 Years Ago<em>

_ An eleven year old Mai sat on the top of the front steps of her small, falling apart home. Her home had peeling paint, cracked wood; it appeared to be lopsided in certain angles, and the steps looked as if they were collapsing, no longer safe to walk upon._

_ Mai didn't mind though, the girl loved her home. She loved it even though she was had to wear ragged clothing, like how she currently wore a stained, white t-shirt that fell at her mid thighs, and holy, dirty black leggings that went just below her knees. Her fair skin tone was streaked with mud and scratches from her adventures, and her black hair with white highlights was cut unevenly to her chin._

_ In her hands was a small doll that was stained with dark colors. "Excuse me Ms. Reyes, are your parents home?"_

_ The little girl jumped and looked up, three men and two women in white lab coats stood before the girl, staring down at her. She tilted her head to call over her shoulder, "Mommy!"_

_ There was a loud pattering sound in the house, and in a moment, a young woman appeared in the broken doorway. Her hair was tangled and her bangs covered her eyes, she wore a messy apron covered in flour atop of her ragged flowered blue dress. "What is it Mai?" Blaire Reyes asked, her stormy gray eyes on her small daughter._

_ Mai climbed to her feet and ran to her mother, sliding her arms around the woman's waist. "Are they gonna take away our home?" Mai asked, tears in her eyes, and Blaire's gaze moved from her daughter to the men and women now on her porch. _

_ "You're the ones that called?" Blaire asked._

_ "Yes."_

_ "Richard!" The woman hollered, and Mai flinched at her mother's loud voice. _

_ A young man with dirt covered black hair, and an oil covered face, along with oil stained jeans and shirt appeared beside his wife. Richard Reyes sighed, wiping his face. "Sorry, I've been working on that darned car, I look worse than usual."_

_ "Mommy? Daddy?" Mai asked, looking up at her parents._

_ "We're ready for the exchange." One man said, and Mai looked up at him, confused._

_ Blaire crouched down at eye level to her daughter, holding her out at arm's length. "Listen Mai, your gonna go away for a while."_

_ "What? Mommy, I don't want to go. I wanna stay home with you and Daddy."_

_ "Well, Mommy and I need the money Mai. So you're going to go along with these nice people and cure a disease that can help save others. Okay?" Richard asked, placing a hand on his daughter's head. _

_ "I don't want to!" Mai cried, tears spilling down her mud covered cheeks._

_ Blaire handed Mai to the man, and he grabbed her hand. "Here you go." He said, handing Mai's parents a suitcase._

_ Richard pried it open and money tumbled out, the Reyes' eyes lit up with joy. "Thank you." Richard said._

_ "Stop!" Mai cried as they started to drag her away. "Mommy! Daddy! You guys love me right?!"_

_ The mother flinched, the father froze. "Don't let them take me! Mommy, Daddy, don't let them take me away!" Mai cried, fighting against the man._

_ "Stop squirming!"_

_ Blaire looked up with an emotionless expression. "Goodbye Mai."_

_ Richard didn't even look at his daughter. "Mommy! Daddy!" Mai cried, her hand dropping the doll as she reached out to her parents one last time…And failed._

_Current Day_

"Mai? You okay?"

The girl looked up from the ground, tears in her stormy gray eyes. "Eh, oh, y-yeah. I'm okay. Just hungry I guess." Mai put a faux smile on her cracked lips.

Beth pulled Mai to her and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay Mai, we're here for you."

_Tch, typical people, all that garbage they tell you and then when you're all done for, they say screw you and take off to save themselves. _

"I'll be fine, just a little shaken up."

"A little?" Kei chuckled nervously, eyes flickering to Haru to make sure he didn't end up with a bullet through his head, but the boy had his eyes on Mai, obviously worried for her.

"It'll be okay Mai! I'll be your knight and shining armor and protect you!" Haru grinned enthusiastically.

"U-um, okay." Mai smiled.

_That's so like you Mai, let him down easy. If it were me, I'd just kill him and call it a day! No more love life~_

"W-we're h-here." Lyn stammered, pointing at the doors to the asylum's canteen.

"…I'm starving." Anders muttered under his hot breath.

That being noted, they all readied themselves to fight whatever may be inside, and Anders and Iker kicked open the double doors. Instead of finding a walking, groaning herd of _Them_, the group of people found the dead actually _dead_ on the floor, heads bashed open and bleeding onto the cement.

Another whole group of people sat in the middle of the room, huddled around a table, possibly trying to figure out a new plan. Mai recognized two people out of the group.

The first was Aurora Tamashi, she was the adopted child of the asylum's owners, Brendan and Nicole. She had a light pink eye color, light brown hair with darker brown highlights, and a light brown skin tone. She wore a black, long-sleeved ruffled Lolita dress, and black flat Lolita shoes decorated with a bow on the back.

The other was Hotaru Shinozaki, she was a resident at the asylum, although she herself was not insane. She had dark yellow eyes, pure white hair tied back into a tight and firm ponytail, and a light and gentle skin tone. She wore a plain black t-shirt and matching jeans. "Aurora! Hotaru!" Mai beamed, making a bee line to her friends, climbing over tables and anything that was in her path.

"Mai!"

Before Mai knew what was happening, a girl appeared before her, and she had to put on the brakes, digging her heels into the floor, hissing at the impact. "Who are you?" The girl asked, her…metal claws digging into Mai's cheek.

_Ha, so this is the chicky that I heard screaming and was told she had her nails replaced with those?_

"I, I, I―" The metal dug deeper into Mai's cheek.

"Hurry up, because if you don't have a name and don't have a good reason for screaming and bringing _Them_ to us, I'll kill you." The girl said, and Mai's bottom lips trembled.

"Seriously Volkov, stop being so harsh to Mai." Aurora scolded, glaring at the older female.

"Shut it kid." The one known as Volkov hissed over her shoulder at Aurora, who flinched.

_I don't like this chick, allow me Mai._

It was the first time Mai didn't struggle against Iris trying to take over. 'Mai' grabbed Volkov's hand, insanity gleaming in those gray eyes of hers. "Listen her chicky, I don't give a rat's arse who are you, but I'll tell you this…Don't ever touch me or Mai, or this," 'Mai' held up the syringe in hand. "Will go through that perfect little neck of yours." She said and licked her lips sadistically. "And oh, what an amazing sight that will be."

"Yay, Iris is out." Hotaru whispered, hiding her face in her hands, she was afraid of this side of Iris…Just as much as anyone.

Volkov tossed her head back and laughed. "I like you."

"Lord help us." Aurora said.

Volkov traced the claw down 'Mai's' cheek and smirked devilishly. The other girl glared coldly and smacked her hand away. "I said don't touch me."

"Name's Miroslava Volkov." The girl said.

Miroslava had fiery red-brown eyes, bloody crimson hair that was straight, yet wild at the same time that reached her mid-back, and a lightly tanned ivory skin tone. She wore only a hospital gown that shielded most of her upper body down to her thighs, yet the sides were completely missing, which must've allowed her easy access to run when escaping.

"Call me Iris." 'Mai' said.

"The kinder version is Mai." Beth added, now behind 'Mai'.

The girl brushed her hands against 'Mai's' eyelids and the girl collapsed against Beth's body, sleeping soundly in an instant. The canteen went silent once more, and the only sound was the soft dripping of the ceiling.

"Well, since we're introducing one another, I'm Aurora, that's Hotaru, and these two gentlemen are Devin and Cyrous." Aurora said.

Devin Arron Kaspar, also known as Dev, Devil, or Arron. He had a right dark brown eyes, and his left clearly showed he was blinded in that side for it was clouded and white, he had dusty brown hair that was purely messy and stuck out in all direction, with a light tan skin tone. The thing that caught most people's attention was the scar dragging down through his left eye. He wore a pair of torn black jeans, he wore a loose gray top, a necklace with dog-tags and an engraving of what may have been a family member's name, his feet bare.

Cyrous Hunter, he had dark brown eyes, curly, messy brown hair, and a pale skin tone. He wore plain brown pants, a green t-shirt with a white unbuttoned shirt atop of it, and black shoes.

"Well, I'm Beth, that's Kei, Iker, Haru, Lyn, Anders, and this little one here is Mai…Though when she gets like that, we call her Iris." Beth said, pointing to everyone with her free hand.

Iker walked up to her and held his arms out for Mai, Beth smiled softly and lifted Mai to him, Iker took her without complaint, shifting her around to carry her bridal style. Haru glared darkly at Iker, but said nothing, if he fired, there was no guarantee that he'd hit Iker, but he could hit Mai as well…He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he shot her.

"H-hey, has anyone seen Anders?" Lyn asked, looking around the canteen, one that had no Anders inside.

"Shoot!" Kei shouted under his breath, and everyone that could began to look around for the boy, with no sight of him.

"Dude, when Mai wakes up and sees that Anders is missing, we're screwed."

The door to the kitchen creaked open, and out walked Anders, cradling food in his arms as if he were bearing a child, he looked up, sandwich in his mouth. Almost everyone's jaws had dropped, eyes wide. "What?" Anders asked through the sandwich.

Beth pressed a hand to her heart and sighed with relief. "Anders, we were scared that something happened to you while we weren't looking."

"No," He said, trying to chew. "While everyone was freaking out, I decided to grab lunch."

"Well, you know what?" Kei asked.

Anders blinked and looked at Kei. "We learned that you talk more when there's food in your hands."

He glared. "So?"

Kei chuckled. "Aren't ya gonna share?" Haru asked.

"Maybe…" Anders said through narrowed eyes, he clearly wasn't willing to share with anyone in the canteen.

Those that had not managed to eat due to the fact they've been fighting or locked up all day stalked past Anders, and went to grab something to eat.

Iker set Mai down on a bench, gently brushing her bangs from her face, smiling softly at the sleeping girl, the girl he'd once had a crush upon. "You still like her don't you?" Aurora asked, causing everyone left in the canteen, which was Iker, Anders, Hotaru, Volkov, Cyrous, and Dev to look at her.

The eighteen year old blushed furiously and stood, the sensation of his hand against Mai's skin still there. "I'm gonna go eat now." He said for everyone to hear and walked away, bangs covering his eyes.

"How cute." Volkov said sarcastically, trying to keep herself from gagging.

Hotaru looked down at the sleeping Mai, and returned to her book in front of her. "What's up with him?" Kei asked, sitting down, nodding at Iker.

"Nothing~" Aurora giggled.

"Eh? What aren't you telling me?"

"It's a girl thing."  
>Kei and Anders stood up in unison, walking to a table further away. "Don't even wanna know." Kei said.<p>

"Agreed." Anders said, taking a bite of his food.

Mai sat up abruptly, looking around questioningly, tears in her tired eyes. "Why are they so far away?"

"No reason." Aurora said as Beth sat down.

"Hungry?" She asked Mai, holding out a sandwich and a can of pop.

"Y-yeah." Mai said and gingerly took the food.

Her dream…Her past…It kept haunting her. And it always left her wondering, can I escape?

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><p><strong>Chapter 4~ Did I do good? Was it descriptive enough? I hope so, I worked my *** off to get this and the other chapters done, which have been rewritten by the way! Whew, I hope you guys liked...Not much to say...For once. ^^ Anyways, Ciao Loves! <strong>


	7. Escape Plan

**~The Asylum~**

**Chapter 5: Escape Plan**

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><p><em><strong>Let's watch this city burn<strong>_

_**From the skylights on top of the world**_

_**Till there's nothing left of her**_

_**Let's watch this city burn the world**_

_**~City by Hollywood Undead~**_

* * *

><p>The canteen was filled with silence as the gang ate their lunch, or whatever was left within the fridge in the kitchen in the back. Mai chewed small bites of her sandwich, her stomach hurting at how much food she was digesting.<p>

She bit the inside of her cheek, staring at the contents of her sandwich: ham, turkey, mayo, mustard, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Mai swallowed hard, before setting her sandwich down on the plastic plate on the table.

"What's wrong Mai?" Beth asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"I'm not hungry…It hurts to eat."

Haru clenched his fists at his side. He was beyond ticked at this point, not only had they hurt Mai and destroyed part of her innocence, creating Iris, but they starved the poor girl, probably thinking, the less food in her, the less of a fight we'll get.

"We need a plan to get outta here." Aurora said, sitting down on the table.

"Did you just figure that out?" Kei asked, putting emphasis on the word 'just'.

"Hey! I'm not dumb!" Aurora shouted, giving him a glare.

"You two got anything to say?" Volkov asked to Dev and Cyrous, the two of them just stared blankly before turning away. "Ha! Both quiet, I wish some others were like that."

Hotaru leaned over to Mai. "But isn't she quite loud as well?"

Mai gagged on her pop and started to giggle uncontrollably, soothing the tension in the room, bringing everyone back to ease. Hotaru chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head and hanging her head over her book. "Sorry…"

"Don't be Hotaru. We all needed some laughter." Beth said, leaning behind Mai and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, Hotaru gave her a weak smile.

"…So what's the plan going to be?" Haru asked, placing his hands on Mai's small shoulders, the girl looked up and gave him a smile.

"Shouldn't we get outta here? I mean, it's not really safe to like, ya know, stay in a building full of people that eat people…" Aurora trailed off, thinking of the people that she saw getting eaten as she tried to find Mai.

The way she cried out Mai's name, and one of them turned their hungry gaze on her, and pounced at her. The way she dropped to her knees, crying for help when blood splattered onto the floor in front of her, onto her clothes, and she looked up, Hotaru and Volkov standing in front of her.

"You mean…_Them_?" Mai asked, everyone's gazes turned on her.

"Huh?" Aurora asked.

"They can't really be called cannibals, because cannibals don't turn other people into one of them. When a cannibal eats you, you're a goner. They can't be called zombies, because this is reality here, zombies are in movies and video games last I knew. So…It's _Them_, because they're not like us, they're real, and once they get you or bite you…You're doomed to become _Them_."

"So that's what we'll call'em." Haru said.

"B-but, i-if we get bit…A-and get turned…How'll we make i-it out?" Lyn stuttered out, Mai reached for his hand, cold skin brushing against cold skin, her slim, small fingers curling around his.

"We have to avoid being bitten, stick together as one group, keeping an eye out for one another." Beth said, and most nodded in agreement.

"What if there are others?" Cyrous finally piped up.

Mai turned to look at the teen, and her innocent smile was replaced by a serious expression. "We'll have to look for them. If there are indeed, other survivors, and I know there are, we have to split up and look for them."

"What?!" Beth shrieked. "Mai! Didn't I just say we needed to stick together in one group."

Kei jumped to his feet, striding across the room over to the rest of the group, Anders dusting off the chip crumbs from his clothing and following after him. "Mai's right, we need to split up. We've been in this danged place far too long for us _not_ to know that it's too big for us to search all together. It's best if we split up, we'll cover more ground that way."

"Kei." Beth scolded.

She didn't like the way things were turning out, she didn't want Mai in a separate group. She couldn't keep an eye out for her little sister-like figure then. And, she'd never know what was going on, if she was hurting, if someone was about to kill her, if she was about to be eaten…If she became _Them_.

"What?" Kei asked, putting his palms to the sky.

Beth sighed and shook her head. "Question though." Volkov said.

"Hm?"

"Who says that it's any safer in the outside world than in here?"

Everyone went silent. Indeed, whoever said that the outside world was any safer than it was inside the asylum. For all they knew, it was safer inside than outside.

"We should take the chance." Mai said.

"…I don't think it's best to take chances Mai." Iker said.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be safe." Haru said. _Only once_, he thought, _am I agreeing with you on anything._

Mai sighed. "Just take a look." Volkov said, revealing the television remote in the palm of her clawed hands.

When the television turned on, the room went silent, except the sound of the television speakers echoing through the canteen.

The woman on the screen, had her black dress suit drenched within blood, her microphone shaking her hands, those newly filed nails were chipped and broken. _"T-this…Is a message from the govern―AH!" _She screamed at the gunfire in the background, her dark brown bangs falling into her teary hazel eyes. _"A-all residents of Shadowsville, Washington are meant to st-stay in their homes at all times until further notice. Th-there are cannibals running amok in the―EEK!"_ She ducked down as a machete flew past her head, lodging itself in a head of one of _Them_.

_"C-city! Everyone is to remain indoors, don't let anyone in or out, and if there are any signs of your family or friend turning on you, kill them immediately. We-we'll try our hardest to keep you up―"_

The woman's words were halted when a pair of bloody hands grabbed onto her, smearing blood onto her blushed cheeks. Screams from the cameraperson was heard, and the camera tumbled to the ground, the woman's feet only in view. _"Wait! Help me!"_ The woman cried.

The newswoman cried, her feet twitching in the camera's view, blood splattering onto the ground by her black heels. She screamed in pain, crying for her family, crying for help in general. A louder moan sounded, coming closer to the camera…No, it was more than one…The woman was attracting the monsters.

_"No! No! NO!"_

And the screen turned black, before being replaced by a multi-colored screen and a soft tone replaced the woman's screams. "Oh…My gosh…"Mai whispered, covering her mouth with her hands, tears streaming down her bloodied pale cheeks.

"If that's outside…How bad is it in here?" Kei asked, slamming his hands on the table.

"It'll probably get worse." Volkov said, obviously enjoying everyone's frightened faces.

"Right! If we don't get outta here, there's no guarantee that they won't eventually all make it in here, and well, we'll all be screwed because there'll be too many." Aurora said.

"Alright, let's do this." Beth said standing up.

Everyone moved to get weapons, no matter what it may be. "Here ya go Beth!" Kei called, tossing a mop over his head.

"What am I supposed to do? Clean their ugly faces?" Beth asked in disbelief, shaking her head.

Mai giggled. "No, you're supposed to break off the end of the mop." Kei said, rolling his eyes.

Beth's mouth shaped an 'o' in realization. She pressed the heel of her foot to the mop, snapping off the cleansing part and leaving nothing, but a sharp, spiraled tip. "Well, this works."

Kei grabbed a broken pipe from the closet. "Alright!" He laughed, twirling it around in his hands.

"I've got the groups!" Aurora called, everyone's feet pattered against the floor as the moved to the table in the center, ready to get into groups and search for any other survivors.

"Alright, here's group one: Mai, me, Lyn, Dev, Hotaru, Iker." Aurora said, giving Iker a wink, and he shook his head, taken aback by the fact, she purposefully put him and Mai in a group together.

Mai gave Iker a soft smile, and he looked away, frantically trying to hide his blush. Haru stood on the other side of Mai, glaring hatefully at Iker. He didn't like it, he didn't like that Mai was going to be alone with Iker, away from him.

His hand twitched for the pistol in his pocket, but Mai grabbed his hand, giving him a small kiss on the nose. "It's okay, I promise I'll be fine." She said. "There's no need for you to shoot Haru."

"M'kay~" Haru said, nuzzling Mai's cheek with his, earning a dark look from Iker.

"And group two: Beth, Kei, Volkov, Cyrous, Anders, Haru."

Everyone nodded, slipping into formation. "Ready?"

A loud moan sounded outside the canteen doors. "They're here." Iker said, his breath tingling Mai's ear, the girl shivering, but managing to nod in agreement.

"GO!"

The group took off in a full blown sprint, kicking the canteen doors open, slamming the metal into the faces of two _Them_, their bodies skidding across the floor.

"We'll take the North and West, you take the South and East." Aurora said.

"We'll all meet up at the main entrance/exit." Kei said, the two nodded and the separate groups ran in different ways.

"Well, I guess it's fun that we get to be in the same group Iker?" Mai asked, a smile on her face.

"…Y-yeah." Iker blushed.

Mai giggled, grabbing Iker's hand. "So, where to first Aurora?" Hotaru asked.

"…We're gonna go find some survivors. And I think I know where one is…Isabella."

"Sounds good to me." Mai said.

* * *

><p><strong>So, here I am again! Indeed, I was not dead, just suffering from a severe case of writer's block, and having other issues, that I'm currently working out. No need to worry guys, I'm gonna be fine, still here aren't I? Hahaha, yeah, I probably didn't make anyone laugh. Any who, sorry if this chapter sucks, again, I've been having writer's block. But I think I did pretty good, review your opinion, do you think I should rewrite it when I've rid myself of writer's block or is it fine the way it is? It won't hurt my feelings, I'm a tough girl. Ah, and sorry for the name change guys, I've recently become obsessed with pandas. You guys know da drill so, Ja matane loves~ <strong>


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